Driven To Cure: How the Car Community Fights Rare Kidney Cancer
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If you've ever been to a car meet on the East Coast, you may have seen it: a bright orange Nissan GT-R wrapped in purpose. That car belongs to Driven To Cure, one of the most beloved charities in American car culture — and one of the causes we feature in our Pit Stops for a Purpose charity directory.
The Story Behind Driven To Cure
Driven To Cure was founded by Andrew Lee, who was diagnosed at age 19 with stage-4 HLRCC (Hereditary Leiomyomatosis and Renal Cell Carcinoma), a rare and aggressive form of kidney cancer. Instead of retreating, Andrew leaned into the thing he loved most — cars. He drove his GT-R across the country to car shows and hospitals alike, connecting with young cancer patients and turning horsepower into hope.
Andrew passed away in 2019, and his father Bruce carried the mission forward until his own passing in 2022. Today the Lee family and the car community keep the engine running — proof that a cause built on love outlasts any one driver.
What Your Donation Funds
Driven To Cure is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 81-1183301) focused on funding research into rare kidney cancers in children and young adults. Since 2016 the organization has donated over $1.4 million to research institutions including the NIH Foundation and the UCLA Foundation, while raising awareness at car events nationwide.
Why Sniff and Shift Backs Them
Sniff and Shift was born in the front seat — our whole brand is about the drive, the co-pilot, and the community that forms around cars. Driven To Cure proves what that community can do when it shifts its passion toward something bigger. That's exactly the spirit behind our Shift Gears for Good charity garage.
How to Donate to Driven To Cure
Donate directly on their secure site: driventocure.org/donate. Your donation goes straight to the organization — Sniff and Shift never collects or handles any portion of it. You can also follow them, share their story, or look for the orange GT-R at your next car show.
Disclosure: Sniff and Shift is a for-profit business and is not affiliated with Driven To Cure. Details above come from the organization's public materials. See our Giving Disclosures.